What it is
What is technical SEO?
Technical SEO is the work that lets search engines reach your pages, read what’s on them, keep the right version in their index and load it fast. It covers crawling, site architecture, rendering, redirects, canonicals, speed and structured data. Good content can’t rank on a page Google can’t read.
Five steps Google takes with every page, and what we check at each:
- FindGoogle learns the page exists.Sitemaps, internal links, site architecture
- CrawlGooglebot can fetch it, and spends its visits on the pages that matter.Robots.txt, status codes, redirects, crawl budget
- RenderGoogle can read what buyers see.Content and links in the HTML, JavaScript
- IndexGoogle keeps the version you chose.Canonicals, duplicates, noindex, hreflang
- ShowIt loads fast on phones and can show as a rich result.Core Web Vitals, mobile, structured data
It matters most on large sites, JavaScript sites and site moves, and any big change to the site can undo it, so we check again after each one. On-page SEO makes each page match what buyers search, and off-page SEO earns the links that vouch for the site. Both depend on these five steps. See what the free map shows ↓
Step one
What does the free search potential map show?
Whether search can bring you inquiries, and what on your site stands in the way. One priority product line or service in one market, in up to 2 business days: how much buyers search for it, who wins that demand today, and whether Google can reach and index your key pages. Then a 20-minute call with Mike or Alex and one direct recommendation.
Our map format, filled in for a typical B2B software company
01 Search demand
How much buyers search for what you sell, by query group.
Search demand
Found- What we saw
- Buyers search by use case and by kind of team, such as “project management software for agencies”, and compare prices and alternatives. Use-case and comparison queries make up most of the commercial demand.
- Why it matters
- Without demand there is nothing to win, so the map checks it before you spend anything.
- What to do
- Give each use case and comparison buyers search a page of its own.
- How we’ll check
- In the strategy: every query group mapped to the one page that should rank for it.
Check it yourself. Search for your category with your buyers’ kind of team. Is your page in the results?
02 Who wins it today
Two similar competitors and the search leader, page by page.
Who wins it today
Gap- What we saw
- Two competitors and a review site hold the top results with use-case and comparison pages. Your site shows up mostly for your brand.
- Why it matters
- They win with pages Google can read and index, not with a better product.
- What to do
- Use-case and comparison pages, with features and prices Google can read.
- How we’ll check
- Your pages in the top ten for the same groups, every month.
Check it yourself. Search your three most important buyer queries. Which competitor shows up most, and with what page?
03 Page types you lack
The pages buyers look for before they book a demo.
Page types you lack
Gap- What we saw
- No pages by use case or kind of team, and no comparison page. One features page tries to answer every search.
- Why it matters
- Buyers look for software made for teams like theirs. Without a page for that, someone else answers.
- What to do
- A page for each use case buyers search most, and a fair comparison page.
- How we’ll check
- Indexing and rankings for each new page.
Check it yourself. Do you have a page for the kind of team that buys from you most?
04 Site readiness
Whether Google can reach, read and index your key pages and templates.
Site readiness
Gap- What we saw
- The site is built in a JavaScript framework. On the feature and pricing pages, the HTML Google reads first is almost empty, and few of them come up in a site: search.
- Why it matters
- Google can render JavaScript, but pages that arrive empty are often indexed late, read thin or left out.
- What to do
- Fix the site first: features, prices and links in the HTML from your server.
- How we’ll check
- In the technical review of the SEO strategy: a ranked fix list your developers can work from.
Check it yourself. Open a key page with JavaScript turned off in your browser. Is the text still there?
05 AI snapshot
A first look at what AI answers say about your category.
AI snapshot
Watch- What we saw
- Five buyer questions on ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity, run once. The answers name two competitors and a review site, not you.
- Why it matters
- AI answers draw on pages search engines can read, so the same fixes help there too. One run is a first look, not a measurement.
- What to do
- If AI answers matter for how your buyers choose, the SEO and GEO strategy covers both in the same time.
- How we’ll check
- In the GEO program: a set of buyer questions agreed with you, checked with the same settings every month.
Check it yourself. Ask ChatGPT which software fits a team like your buyers. Are you named?
06 The recommendation
One direct answer on what to do next.
The recommendation
Found- What we saw
- Fix the site first. There is demand you can win, but new pages won’t rank while Google reads them almost empty.
- Why it matters
- Every map ends with one recommendation, so you know what to do next, even if it’s to wait.
- What to do
- One of four: an SEO strategy, an SEO and GEO strategy, fix the site first, or come back later.
- How we’ll check
- A 20-minute call with Mike or Alex to go through it.
Check it yourself. Could your developers render your key pages on the server this month?
Every part ends as Found (in place), Gap (missing or broken) or Watch (check again). The readiness check looks at your key pages and templates, not a full crawl. The map is yours, whether you work with us, your own team or another agency.
Triage
What should you check first on your site?
What blocks indexing, then what costs rankings, then what slows growth. Pick your platform and what you see, and you get the order we would check in. A site move goes to the top. Nothing you pick is sent anywhere.
| Priority | What you see | What we check first | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Blocks indexing | Pages missing from Google, a drop after a release, a move coming or a drop after one, a JavaScript site | The indexing report and URL Inspection, the latest release against the drop date, a URL inventory or where old URLs land now, the raw HTML against the rendered page | Fixed first. A move, or an audit after one, is quoted on its own. |
| 2 · Costs rankings | Slow on phones, duplicate pages, several languages, a large site | Core Web Vitals by template, canonical and parameter rules, hreflang, where Googlebot spends its visits | The technical review in the SEO strategy, then the monthly program |
| 3 · Slows growth | No rich results | Structured data against what each template shows | The monthly program |
How it works
How does technical SEO work with us?
In stages, each a complete piece of work with its own result, and after each one you decide whether to continue. The SEO strategy includes a technical review, so most companies need it or a separate SEO audit, not both. The fixes run in the monthly program, shipped by your developers or by us.
Map, audit, strategy, monthly work
◆ You decide
Up to 2 days Free search potential map
One priority product line or service in one market: how much buyers search for it, who wins that demand today, and whether Google can reach and index your key pages.
◆ You choose what comes next: an SEO strategy, an SEO and GEO strategy, fix the site first, or come back later.
From you Your site, one priority product line or service, and the market.
Optional SEO audit
For when you need a diagnosis before a plan: every technical issue ranked by impact, together with content, links and the path to an inquiry. In 10 business days, for one language. If you go on to the strategy within 14 days, the audit counts toward it.
From you Search Console and analytics access.
3–4 weeks SEO strategy
It includes a technical review: a ranked plan of changes for indexing, duplicates, redirects, speed, mobile, robots.txt and sitemaps. With it come the keyword map, site structure, competitor analysis, page requirements and a six-month plan with a forecast in three scenarios.
◆ You approve the plan and the forecast.
From you Access to analytics and Search Console, your priority products and a contact who owns the site.
Monthly Monthly program
The fixes and page work from the plan, from a set monthly capacity. Your developers ship a fix from our task, or we ship it on your CMS, and we check the result on the live site.
◆ You agree each month’s tasks.
From you One owner for the site, and a developer or CMS access for the fixes.
The map, the audit and the strategy stay with you, whether you implement with us, your own team or another agency.
What the technical work covers
- Crawling and indexing
- Robots.txt, sitemaps, status codes, redirects, canonicals and duplicates, fixed in order of impact.
- Site architecture
- Which pages get indexed, how filters and parameters behave, and internal links that bring Google to the pages that sell.
- Rendering
- Key content and links in the HTML Google reads first, checked on every template of a JavaScript site.
- Speed and structured data
- Core Web Vitals by template, and schema that matches what each page shows.
Every month, without spending units
- Indexing
- Expected against indexed pages, by section and page type.
- Errors
- Redirects, 404s, canonicals, duplicates, security and search engine warnings.
- After a big change
- A new template, CMS, URL structure or tracking: the pages and templates it touched, checked after the change.
- Every two months
- Speed, mobile, robots.txt, sitemaps, structured data and internal links.
Build a month
What can a month of technical SEO deliver?
At Growth pace, about 8 technical fixes and 4 page improvements, when the strategy puts fixes first. The monthly program is a set capacity in units, and every task has a fixed size. Pick a pace, then change the mix. Indexing checks, error checks, the report and the plan run every month without spending units.
| Pace | Units a month | Technical fixes | Page improvements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Growth | 12 | 8 | 4 |
| Scale | 18 | 12 | 6 |
A technical fix, a page improvement and a conversion review take 1 unit each. A turnkey service page takes 3 units, or 1 if your team designs and builds it.
Site migrations
How do you move a site without losing search traffic?
Plan the move before the new CMS or structure is signed off, and check it after launch. A new domain, CMS or set of URLs makes Google learn your pages again. Our SEO migration support makes sure every URL that earns traffic, links or inquiries has a place to go, and that nothing blocks the new site on day one.
- Before sign-offInventoryEvery URL with traffic, links or inquiries, and a baseline by page group.
- Before launchRedirect mapWhere each old URL goes, in one hop, with canonicals, hreflang and sitemaps updated to match.
- Before launchTests on stagingRedirects, indexing rules, analytics and forms, so no noindex tag or blocked page goes live.
- Launch day, then 60 daysChecks after launchDaily in the first week, then weekly, against the baseline. We find what the move broke and get it fixed with your developers.
Some movement in search after a move is normal. The checks are there to catch losses from mistakes. Migration support is quoted on its own before we start. Already moved and lost traffic? We start with where every old URL lands now, as an audit after the move, quoted on its own.
Moving to a new site with a new design? The move is part of a website redesign →
Measurement
How do you know technical fixes worked?
By the pages they unblock, down to the inquiries those pages bring. A health score can rise while nothing changes for buyers, and technical fixes rarely move rankings on their own. So we report each fix next to the pages it unblocked: indexed or not, shown and clicked, and what inquiries came in. Pick a step for the details.
Shipped and re-checked
- We count
- Every fix checked on the live site after it ships. After a big change to the site, such as a new template, CMS, URLs or indexing rules, the pages it touched checked for what it broke: noindex tags, blocked files, redirects and canonicals.
- We leave out
- Fixes that only raise a tool’s score without touching the pages that sell.
- Source
- Our crawl of the key pages and templates, and your notes on what changed.
Key pages indexed
- We count
- Expected against indexed pages, by section and page type, in the version you chose.
- We leave out
- Pages you don’t want indexed, such as filter results and internal search.
- Source
- The Search Console indexing report and URL Inspection.
Clicks on unblocked pages
- We count
- Impressions and clicks for the pages each fix unblocked, by page group.
- We leave out
- Brand searches in the headline number. They make any report look good.
- Source
- Search Console. Rankings and clicks move once Google re-crawls the pages, often weeks after the fix.
Organic inquiries
- We count
- Quote, demo and contact requests from organic search, by landing page, counted once.
- We leave out
- Spam, duplicates and job applications.
- Source
- Your analytics and CRM, with the landing page on every request.
What you get every month
A report on what we checked, what shipped, what we found and fixed, and what comes next.
Our report format, filled in for a typical month of a B2B software company.
Monthly technical SEO report
Month 3
Checked
- Indexed against expected, by section
- Every month
- Redirects, 404s and canonicals
- No critical errors
- Speed and mobile, by template
- Every two months
Shipped
- Features and prices in the HTML of the pricing pageLive in week 1
- Use-case pages rendered on the serverLive in week 2
- Links to them from the features pageChecked on the site
Found and fixed
A release blocked the use-case template’s scripts in robots.txt. Our check after the change caught it, and your developers rolled it back the next morning.
Next month
Structured data for the pricing page, once your team confirms the current plans.
By business
What breaks on sites like yours, and what do we check first?
Usually the way the site is built or released. Filters and thin pages multiply URLs, JavaScript sites hide content, listings come and go, and moves and releases break what worked. Pick your business.
B2B software
- Buyers search
- “project management software for agencies”, “project management software pricing”, “project management software comparison”
- What usually breaks
- A site built in a JavaScript framework sends Google an almost empty HTML, and pricing loads behind a script.
- What we check first
- The raw HTML against the rendered page on every key template.
- What counts as an inquiry
- A demo request or a trial from a team in your size range.
Real estate
- Buyers search
- “homes for sale in austin”, “austin condos for sale”, “real estate agent austin”
- What usually breaks
- A move to a new CMS or domain without redirects, and sold listings that stay in the index.
- What we check first
- Every old URL that had traffic or links, and where it lands now. Before the next move, the inventory comes first.
- What counts as an inquiry
- A viewing request on a listing that is still for sale.
Fintech
- Buyers search
- “small business loans texas”, “equipment financing rates”, “sba loan requirements”
- What usually breaks
- Thousands of near-empty pages by city, rate or bank take Google’s visits from the pages that sell.
- What we check first
- Where Googlebot spends its visits, and which of those pages earn any searches.
- What counts as an inquiry
- A started application from a business that passes your eligibility checks.
Google’s quality guidelines hold pages about money to a higher standard of trust. Fintech marketing →
Healthcare
- Buyers search
- “physical therapy denver”, “sports physical therapy near me”, “physical therapy for back pain”
- What usually breaks
- A release sets the clinic location pages to noindex, and nobody notices until calls drop.
- What we check first
- The location template after every change, for noindex tags, blocked files and broken redirects, and who wrote and reviewed each page about care.
- What counts as an inquiry
- An appointment request from a patient in your area.
Pages about health get the same stricter reading. Healthcare marketing →
Travel
- Buyers search
- “italy small group tours”, “10 day italy tour”, “italy tours for seniors”
- What usually breaks
- Date, price and length filters create copies of every tour page, and Google keeps the wrong one.
- What we check first
- Which version Google keeps for each tour page, and what the filters do to the URLs.
- What counts as an inquiry
- A tour inquiry with dates and the number of travelers.
Team
Two founders, one strategy.
An SEO specialist leads the technical work day to day and writes every task your developers get. The founders set the direction, and one of them answers for your project personally.
-
-
Every project has a founder on it and a team lead for each service.
- Technical SEO teamAn SEO specialist and a project manager. We ship agreed fixes on your CMS, or work with your developers and check what they ship on the live site.
If the people on your program change, the fix list, the baseline and our notes stay with the project, and so does a founder.
- 2015founded
- 100+client projects
- 15+projects for US companies
Most of our clients come through a recommendation. Meet the team →
Price
How much do technical SEO services cost?
The search potential map is free. The SEO strategy, which includes a technical review, starts at $X, and the monthly program starts at $X a month, set by the pace you choose. A site migration is quoted on its own.
Free search potential map
$0
Up to 2 business days
- One priority product line or service in one market
- Search demand, who wins it today and why
- Whether Google can reach and index your key pages, and a call with Mike or Alex
SEO strategy
From $X
One time · 3–4 weeks
- A technical review with a ranked fix plan
- Keyword map and site structure
- Requirements for pages, links and conversion
- A six-month plan with a forecast in three scenarios
Monthly program
From $X a month
Starter, Growth or Scale pace
- 6, 12 or 18 units of work a month
- Technical fixes shipped and checked on the live site
- Indexing and error checks, the report and the plan without spending units
Site migration
From $X
Quoted on its own, before we start
- Inventory and redirect map
- Tests on staging and launch-day checks
- 60 days of checks after launch
- Or an audit after a move that lost traffic
How the program works
- The pace sets the price. You can change it from the next month.
- A critical error that blocks inquiries or drops a key page from search becomes the month’s first task.
- Unused units move to the next month if the delay is ours.
If you leave
Give us 10 business days’ notice. The map, the strategy, the fix list, every task and every report stay with you, and so do your Search Console and analytics.
- What moves the price
- For the monthly program, only the pace. For the strategy, the size of the site and the number of markets and languages. For a migration, the number of URLs and templates that move.
- Not included
- A full crawl of a large site, server log analysis, and development beyond the agreed tasks, such as a new template or an integration. Each is quoted separately.
At six months we set the trend against the forecast with you and agree on what to change.
Questions buyers ask
Technical SEO FAQ
The short answer comes first. Open any question for the detail.
What is technical SEO?Making pages easy for Google to reach, read and index.
Technical SEO covers how search engines crawl your site, render each page, choose the version to index and load it: robots.txt, sitemaps, redirects, canonicals, rendering, Core Web Vitals, structured data and hreflang. It is the base every SEO program stands on.
What does a technical SEO agency do?Finds what blocks your pages, then fixes it.
We crawl the site, read Search Console and analytics, rank the issues by what they block, write tasks your developers can work from or ship the fixes on your CMS, then check the result on the live site and again after every big change, because a later release can undo a fix.
How is technical SEO different from an SEO audit?An audit diagnoses. Technical SEO fixes it and keeps it fixed.
An SEO audit is a one-time diagnosis with a ranked fix list, across technical health, content and links. Technical SEO is the work that follows: the fixes themselves, shipped with your developers, and the checks after big changes that keep them in place.
How do technical SEO agencies charge?An audit, a monthly retainer or a project.
Agencies usually sell technical SEO as a one-time audit, a monthly retainer or a project for a migration. Ours follows the same stages as the rest of our SEO: a free map, a strategy at a fixed price, then a monthly program priced only by its pace. A migration is quoted on its own.
How long until technical fixes show results?Days to weeks for indexing, longer for rankings.
Indexing changes show in Search Console within days to weeks, once Google re-crawls the pages. Rankings and traffic follow over the next weeks and months, depending on how often Google visits the site and how strong the pages are. We judge the trend in inquiries over six months.
How long does an SEO migration take?Start before sign-off, check for 60 days after launch.
The inventory and redirect map should be ready before the new CMS or structure is signed off, so they can be tested on staging. After launch we check daily in the first week, then weekly, for 60 days. Some ranking movement is normal. The checks are there to catch losses from mistakes.
Can technical SEO fix a traffic drop?If the cause is technical, yes.
A drop right after a release usually has a technical cause: a noindex tag, blocked files, broken redirects or canonicals. We match the drop to releases, Google updates, seasonality and tracking changes before fixing anything.
What tools do you use for technical SEO?Professional tools, read by a specialist.
We use the best professional tools on the market: site crawlers, Google Search Console, server log analysis and Core Web Vitals field data. Server log analysis is quoted separately on large sites. The tools find issues. A specialist decides which ones block the pages that sell and in what order to fix them.
Can you guarantee rankings after technical fixes?No. No one can.
We don’t promise rankings or a set number of leads. No one can: rankings depend on search engines, competitors and how quickly changes go live. We control the work: we find what blocks the pages that matter, fix it in order and show what changed.
Do you work with our developers?Yes, or we ship the fixes ourselves.
If your developer makes the changes, we write the task, answer questions and check the result on the live site. We can also ship agreed technical fixes on your CMS within the monthly units. Before the first month we agree who implements what.
Insights
Research, an article and a guide on search
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An AI answer can leave out a company, describe its offer incorrectly or cite a source that explains the product poorly. Each observation calls for investigation. The practical work starts by recording the answer and checking the information behind it.CheckedMQL vs SQL: what counts as a qualified lead
Marketing and sales often mean different things by “qualified.” Here is one deal followed through both marks, a one-page agreement to fill in, and a way to teach Google, Meta and LinkedIn from the second mark.Checked
Start here
Is something technical holding your site back?
The free map shows it in up to two business days: whether Google can reach and index your key pages, whether there’s search demand worth competing for, and who wins it today.
- 01Tell us your site, one priority product line or service, and the market.
- 02Within two business days you get the map: demand, competitors and a first check of how Google reaches your key pages.
- 03A 20-minute call with Mike or Alex and one direct recommendation.
Moving to a new CMS, domain or URL structure, or already moved and lost traffic? Ask for a migration quote: before a move, the inventory, the redirect map, tests on staging and checks after launch, or after one, an audit of what it broke.